Spartan 12W Executive

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Spartan 12W Executive
Spartan Model 12 Executive NX21962.jpg
Spartan 12W Executive
RolePersonal luxury transport
National origin United States
Manufacturer Spartan Aircraft Company
First flightcirca 1946 [1]
Statusonly one prototype completed
Producedcirca 1946
Number builtone
Developed from Spartan Executive

The Spartan 12W Executive was a tricycle gear post-war development of the Spartan 7W Executive, produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company. [2] The 12W was intended to have higher performance and be more economical than the 7W. [1]

Spartan Aircraft Company American aircraft and travel trailer manufacturing company 1928-1961

The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company, headquartered on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previously known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company, the company had been reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly — and operated until 1961, manufacturing aircraft, aircraft components, and recreational vehicle trailers. The company was known for the luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s — made prominent by owners such as Howard Hughes and King Ghazi of Iraq.

Contents

Design and development

After World War II, Spartan aircraft Company president J. Paul Getty was unsure of the market potential of a new executive aircraft. [3] After building just one model 12W Executive (NX21962), the manufacturer lost interest in luxury aircraft and focused on constructing travel trailers instead. [4] The sole example produced was owned by Spartan Aircraft and employed at their flight training school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [1]

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

J. Paul Getty American industrialist

Jean Paul Getty, known widely as J. Paul Getty, was a naturalized British American petrol-industrialist, and the patriarch of the Getty family. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion. At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion. A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.

Caravan (towed trailer) type of vehicle

A caravan, travel trailer, camper or camper trailer is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent. It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable.

The Spartan 12W Executive features magnesium alloy wings and tail surfaces and range extending wing tip-tanks. The magnesium alloy skin quickly corroded and was replaced with aluminum alloy. The tip-tanks were also removed. [1]

Magnesium alloy

Magnesium alloys are mixtures of magnesium with other metals, often aluminum, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys. Plastic deformation of the hexagonal lattice is more complicated than in cubic latticed metals like aluminium, copper and steel; therefore, magnesium alloys are typically used as cast alloys, but research of wrought alloys has been more extensive since 2003. Cast magnesium alloys are used for many components of modern automobiles and have been used in some high-performance vehicles; die-cast magnesium is also used for camera bodies and components in lenses.

Aircraft on display

Spartan Aircraft flight training school eventually sold the Spartan 12W. Over the years, the aircraft passed through a number of private owners' hands. The 12W was restored in 1967 and in 2012 was retired. The 12W is now on static display at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. [5]

Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium Aviation museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum (TASM) is an aerospace museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in the northwest corner of the Tulsa International Airport property. It has 19,000 square feet (1,800 m2) of historical exhibits, hands-on activities, and vintage aircraft. A full-dome planetarium was added in 2006. The museum also has educational facilities for school visits, summer camps, and Scout groups.

Specifications

Spartan 12W Executive Spartan Model 12 Executive.jpg
Spartan 12W Executive

Data from Aerofiles [1]

General characteristics

Performance

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References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Eckland, K.O. "American airplanes: Spartan." Aerofiles.com, October 6, 2007. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.
  2. Taylor 1989, p. 983.
  3. "Spartan History." spartanexecutive.com, 2003. Retrieved: August 28, 2017.
  4. Donald 1989, p. 853.
  5. Stewart, D.R. "One-of-a-kind Spartan Model 12 plane comes home to Tulsa." Tulsa World, September 28, 2012. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.

Bibliography

  • Davisson, Budd. "Spartan Executive." Air Progress, March 1971.
  • Donald, David. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books;, 1997. ISBN   978-1-8560-5375-4.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN   978-1-8517-0324-1.
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